Chapter 291: Unexpected Incident in Sinnoh
The moment Sabrina entered the room, she saw Asahi bullying Eevee.
Tightly wrapped in the Red Chain, Eevee dangled in the air as Asahi playfully swung it back and forth. Its small head wobbled left and right as it let out pitiful cries.
At this point, Sabrina had grown accustomed to Asahi's occasional mischief.
Even Gardevoir looked completely unfazed.
But…
Sabrina glanced at the Red Chain binding Eevee. Her psychic senses told her it wasn't an ordinary item.
Meanwhile, Gengar was comfortably munching on a bag of chips, watching TV.
She grabbed the remote and, without hesitation, switched the channel from Haunter's Night of Terror to Marill's Grand Adventure.
Gengar had just been watching a fool about to get caught by Haunter when—
The screen abruptly changed to a Marill being chased by a flock of Spearow.
Gengar froze.
Slowly, it turned to glare at the culprit.
Then—
It met Sabrina's smirking gaze.
Remembering what Sabrina was capable of, Gengar shuddered involuntarily.
Sabrina gestured at the chips in its hands.
With a mournful look, Gengar reluctantly handed over the snack before sulking back into Asahi's shadow.
Asahi sighed at the scene. "You're really that bored? There's plenty of food in the snack cabinet. Why steal from Gengar?"
He patted Gengar, who was now half-submerged in his shadow, clinging to his leg.
Sabrina casually took a bite of the chips. "Stolen chips taste better."
Crunch.
"…That actually makes sense," Asahi mused.
Gengar: "..."
It had hoped Asahi would stand up for it.
But if even Asahi wasn't going to help, what could it do?
With puffed-up cheeks, Gengar sulked deeper into the shadows.
Just then, Asahi's phone chimed.
Placing the now-dizzy Eevee on the table, he picked up his phone. "Who'd be messaging me now…?"
Maybe Giovanni finally had a change of heart and unblocked him?
Opening the message, he frowned slightly.
Sabrina immediately noticed. "What is it?"
"Nothing," Asahi sighed. "Just more trouble."
He handed her the phone.
Sabrina glanced at the message.
[Team Galactic has seized control of Darkrai and launched an attack on the International Police's Sinnoh division. The Sinnoh branch has been wiped out… Only Looker managed to escape.]
Sabrina was stunned.
Yet another regional police division had been completely wiped out…?
Meanwhile, Asahi finally understood how Sird had managed to escape Giovanni.
Darkrai.
If Giovanni had been caught off guard, it was no surprise he had been overwhelmed.
He got what he deserved.
But the fact that Darkrai had fallen into Team Galactic's hands was troubling.
---
Truth be told, if he had a choice, Asahi would really rather not go to Sinnoh.
He would even be willing to resolve the Groudon and Kyogre crisis all over again.
But when it came to the Sinnoh region, which had an unclear and complex connection with Arceus… before Asahi could figure out how the Alpaca viewed him, a "freeloader" who kept plundering the elemental plates, he was unwilling to set foot there lightly.
Yet now… it seemed like he had no choice but to go to Sinnoh.
"The headquarters didn't say we had to take action, right…?" At the conference table, Gary spoke after reading the message.
This time, the headquarters had only sent a notification; they hadn't issued a mission order.
Since there was no mission, they shouldn't have to take action.
Sinnoh had Champion Cynthia, the Sinnoh Elite Four, and even Lorelei and Koga, who had gone to provide support. That should be enough to handle the situation.
The others, however, didn't entirely agree with Gary's viewpoint.
Zinnia, who had just recently established a decent relationship with Lord Rayquaza, nodded repeatedly in agreement. Green expressed cautious support, while Sabrina and Courtney firmly disagreed.
Courtney, who came from Team Magma, blew a bubblegum bubble and said, "I don't know much about Team Galactic… but based on my experience, you can't judge these organizations solely by their combat strength."
"In terms of power, neither Archie nor Maxie could match Steven, yet they still managed to release Groudon and Kyogre in the end. We can't place all our hopes on the Sinnoh League."
Sabrina, a former Rocket member, nodded. "Dealing with evil organizations requires professionals."
And who were the professionals? That went without saying.
No one was more experienced than them—the ones who had crushed Team Rocket, dismantled the Masked Army, and neutralized both Team Magma and Team Aqua.
Ultimately, the final decision rested with Asahi.
Everyone turned their gaze to him, waiting for him to make the call.
After all, in the Kanto Division, Asahi was the director.
Asahi pondered for a moment. "The headquarters hasn't assigned us a mission yet, probably considering that we just went through the Hoenn crisis…"
"But as members of the International Police, we can't just turn a blind eye to Team Galactic's provocations just because we haven't received orders."
"Besides, I did promise Cynthia that if I had the chance, I'd help out."
"So…"
Under everyone's watchful eyes, Asahi spoke.
"Starting now, begin searching the database, contact the Sinnoh authorities, compile all available intel on Team Galactic, and be ready. If the situation escalates, we'll move out to assist Sinnoh."
Everyone nodded in unison.
While Asahi and his team were having their discussion, Giovanni also received the news.
Sinnoh, Team Galactic, Darkrai…
These keywords strung together made Giovanni involuntarily recall the moment Sird escaped from his grasp.
A disgrace.
But then, Giovanni noticed a particular detail in the report—"The International Police's Sinnoh Division has been destroyed."
Suddenly, he felt a lot better.
It was like tripping and falling flat on your face—painful and humiliating. But if you looked up and saw your rival tripping just as badly, it somehow made things more bearable.
Pulling out his phone, Giovanni unblocked Asahi and sent him the intel as a response to the two messages Asahi had previously sent him.
On one hand, it clarified that he hadn't lost to Sird—he had been caught off guard by Darkrai.
On the other hand, it was a subtle jab at Asahi: Your International Police aren't doing so hot either.
After sending the message, Giovanni couldn't help but smirk coldly, imagining the look on Asahi's face when he read it.
But his smirk lasted only a few seconds.
Ding!
A message popped up.
[Asahi: Heard you got beaten up by your own subordinate.]
Giovanni's face stiffened.
Before he could react, another message arrived.
[Asahi: So… you had Sird working under you for years, and you never knew she had a Darkrai?]
[Also, if she had Darkrai, maybe I wouldn't have stolen Mewtwo from you so easily, huh?]
[Tsk tsk, what a shame.]
BAM!
Giovanni's fist slammed onto the table.
The Rocket Grunts standing guard outside heard the all-too-familiar sound of a fist hitting the desk. They exchanged glances and saw the same resigned expression in each other's eyes—Here we go again…
After sending the last message, Asahi glanced at his phone, surprised that Giovanni hadn't blocked him again.
Had Giovanni grown more resistant to verbal attacks after being provoked so many times?
As expected of the man who built Team Rocket from the ground up. His emotional control was on a whole different level.
Just as Asahi was contemplating whether to send another message asking about the progress on Deoxys—so he could "drop by" and take it off Giovanni's hands—his phone unexpectedly rang.
Steven was calling.
"Steven?"
Asahi was surprised.
Had something happened in Hoenn again?
When he picked up, Steven's voice came through. "Asahi, did you receive the news from Sinnoh?"
"I did… You too? Don't tell me the League wants you to go support Sinnoh?" Asahi asked.
Although both Team Magma and Team Aqua had been thoroughly cleaned up, and theoretically Hoenn could send reinforcements, the region was still recovering. Surely the League wouldn't be that heartless… right?
Steven quickly clarified. "No, this has nothing to do with the League. I'm calling because someone asked me to."
"Oh?"
Asahi was intrigued.
Who else, besides the League, could ask Steven for a favor?
"You know about the Rayquaza capture project, right? The one carried out jointly by Devon Corp, Mossdeep Space Center, and the Berlitz family…" Steven said.
Asahi glanced outside at Zinnia, who was napping on the lawn while Yellow gave Rayquaza a massage, and frowned slightly. "You're saying…"
"Yes. I was contacted by the Berlitz family."
The Berlitz family—the wealthiest family in Sinnoh, with over two centuries of history. Their business empire and influence spanned the entire region.
Asahi hadn't even gone looking for them yet, and they had already come knocking on his door.
"They should already know that I captured Rayquaza and gained its acknowledgment, right?" Asahi asked.
Due to his International Police status and friendship with Steven, he hadn't sought revenge on those involved in the Rayquaza capture plan…
But he hadn't expected the Berlitz family to reach out first.
"What do they want?" Asahi asked.
Steven explained, "You know about Team Galactic's attack on the International Police Sinnoh Division, right? They used the Nightmare Pokémon, Darkrai. At the time, the Berlitz family's heiress, Platinum, was caught in the crossfire."
"She was affected by Darkrai's power and has been in a coma ever since. The Berlitz family has tried every possible treatment, but nothing has worked."
"They learned about your abilities and want to ask for your help in waking her up."
Hearing this, Asahi raised an eyebrow.
Platinum Berlitz—one of the protagonists of the Diamond & Pearl Special manga.
He hadn't expected her to get caught up in Team Galactic's attack. Talk about bad luck…
As for why the Berlitz family believed he could help…
Asahi recalled the time he had used Celebi's power at Mossdeep Space Center.
Maybe that was the reason?
While Asahi was lost in thought, Steven patiently waited for his response.
To be honest, if the Berlitz family weren't a strategic partner of Devon Corp, Steven wouldn't have wanted to get involved in this mess at all. He would have simply told them to go through official League channels to contact Asahi.
But now…
After a long silence, just as Steven thought Asahi might refuse—
"Tell them to contact me."
The Berlitz family's attempt to capture Rayquaza had nothing to do with Platinum, who had been just a child at the time.
Besides… Asahi glanced at the Red Chain in his hand.
Maybe this was the perfect opportunity to step into Sinnoh.
As for their past actions… He'd deal with that later.
Asahi stroked his chin thoughtfully.
Gary, passing by, saw that familiar scheming expression on Asahi's face and shivered.
Someone's about to have a very bad day…
The Berlitz family moved fast.
Barely ten minutes after Asahi hung up, they called.
"Asahi-san."
On the video call was a bespectacled man in a researcher's outfit, looking both anxious and exhausted.
"Professor Berlitz," Asahi greeted.
He knew this man—not just as a member of the Berlitz family, but also as Professor Rowan's assistant and the youngest Pokémon Professor in Sinnoh.
"Let's skip the pleasantries. I already got the general rundown from Steven. Send me the detailed data."
"Here it is…" Professor Berlitz quickly sent over all the medical records.
Asahi signaled Green to project the documents onto the screen.
Scanning through the data, he got a clear picture of Platinum's condition.
After a moment of thought, Asahi spoke. "Her life isn't in danger… for now."
"Listen, Celebi isn't with me at the moment. Once I track it down, I'll head to Sinnoh in a couple of days to assess the situation and administer treatment."
Professor Berlitz immediately expressed his gratitude. "Thank you so much."
"One more thing… regarding the Rayquaza incident, on behalf of the Berlitz family, I'd like to apologize—"
Asahi didn't respond, simply nodding before ending the call.
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